Constitution of Benches and procedure of Appellate Tribunal.
186. (1) The powers and functions of the Appellate Tribunal may be exercised and discharged by its Benches constituted by the President of the Appellate Tribunal from among the members thereof.
(2) Subject to sub-section (3), a Bench shall consist of one judicial member and one accountant member.
(3) The Vice-President or any other member of the Appellate Tribunal authorised in this behalf by the Central Government may, sitting alone, dispose of any case allotted to the Bench of which he is a member and which pertains to an assessee, not being a company or a non-resident, whose tax bases as computed by the Assessing Officer does not exceed five lakh rupees.
(4) The President may, in the interest of justice and for the disposal of any particular case, constitute a Special Bench consisting of three or more members, one of whom shall necessarily be a judicial member and one an accountant member.
(5) The President shall, on a reference received from the Board for the disposal of any particular case, constitute a Special Bench consisting of five members or more, two of whom shall necessarily be judicial members and two accountant members.
(6) Where on any point the members of a Bench differ in opinion, it shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority.
(7) If the members of a Bench are equally divided in opinion on any point or points, they shall state the point or points on which they differ and make a reference to the President of the Appellate Tribunal who shall either hear himself or refer for hearing on such point or points by one or more of the other members of the Appellate Tribunal and such point or points shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority of the members of the Appellate Tribunal who have heard the case, including those who first heard it.
(8) Subject to the provisions of this Code, the Appellate Tribunal shall have powers to regulate its own procedure and the procedure of Benches thereof in all matters arising out of the exercise of its powers or of the discharge of its functions, including the place at which the Benches shall hold their sittings.
(9) The Appellate Tribunal shall, for the purpose of discharging its functions, have all the powers which are vested in the income-tax authorities under section 134.
(10) Any proceeding before the Appellate Tribunal shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of section 193 and section 228 and for the purpose of section 196 of the Indian Penal Code.
(11) The Appellate Tribunal shall be deemed to be a civil court for all the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
